Jalen Whitlow commits five turnovers in season opener

Montgomery native and Prattville High graduate Jalen Whitlow started his college at Kentucky and ended it at Eastern Illinois.(Photo: USA TODAY Sports)

Jalen Whitlow didn't start his senior season at Eastern Illinois the right way at all.

The Montgomery native and Prattville High graduate committed five turnovers in last week's 33-5 loss at Western Illinois. Whitlow threw three interceptions with one getting returned for a touchdown and fumbled twice. He was also sacked twice.

It won't get any easier for the Kentucky transfer as EIU, an FCS school, plays Saturday at Northwestern. The Wildcats are coming off a 16-6 home win over then No. 21-ranked Stanford.

Now Whitlow will try to bounce back against a team that limited the Cardinal to 240 yards of total offense and 3-of-15 on third down. However, SB Nation has Whitlow being the top reason EIU will beat Northwestern.

Whitlow, a Kentucky transfer, threw three interceptions against WIU, but is a major running threat. Northwestern shut Stanford's Kevin Hogan down in Week 1, but he's not nearly as mobile as Whitlow, whose speed could present the Wildcats' defense with some problems. If he can limit his mistakes and get NU's defense out of step with his speed, the Panthers could have some success.